Toronto Santa Claus Parade

Toronto Santa Claus Parade
A float in the 2009 Parade
Created by	Eaton's
Starring	Ken Shaw and Melissa Grelo 2010-present - CFTO-DT/CP24 Rosey Edeh (2009) and Leslie Roberts 2005-2009 - Global Toronto Faye Dance, Sandy Hoyt (1985-1997) and Susan Hay (1990s until 2008) - Global Toronto
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	111 (as of November 15th, 2015)
Production
Location(s)	Downtown Toronto from Christie Pits along Bloor Street West, south on Avenue Road/Queen's Park Crescent/University Avenue to Front Street West, east along Front to St. Lawrence Market
Running time	3 Hours (with commercials)
Production company(s)	Eaton's 1905-1977 various corporate sponsors 1982-present CTV (media since 2010)
Release
Original network	Television: CTV 2010-present Global 1982-2009 CBC 1952-1981 (rebroadcast on CBS) Radio: CFRB 1930s to 1950s CBC Radio 1950s to 1980s CHFI-FM 1980s-present
Original release	1952 – present
External links
Website

Eaton's Santa Claus Parade, 1918, Toronto, Ontario. Having arrived at the Eaton's store, Santa is readying his ladder to climb up onto the building.

The Toronto Santa Claus Parade is a Santa Claus parade held annually on the third Sunday of November in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The next parade will be held on Sunday, November 20, 2016. More than a half million people attend the parade every year.^[1] The televised parade, broadcast nationwide on the CTV Television Network, starts at around 4pm and runs about an hour and a half.

History

The Toronto Santa Claus Parade was first held on December 2, 1905 with just a single float, and was operated and funded by the Eaton's chain of department stores. It now has over 25 floats, 24 bands, and 1,700 participants.The parade route is almost 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long. It is one of the biggest productions in North America, by the 1950s it was the largest Santa Claus parade in North America, and is one of the oldest annual parade in the world.^[2]

Eaton's Merchandise Display Department worked year-round at Eaton's Sheppard and Highway 400 service building to make costumes and build floats and mechanized window tableaux. The cost of the parade was paid for by Eaton's which used the event to promote its store.^[3]

From 1925 until the late 1960s the floats from the parade were reused in Montreal where Eaton's had been holding Santa Claus Parades since 1909. This arrangement was cancelled due in 1969 due to bombing threats by the Front de libération du Québec and did not resume until it was revived in the 1990s by Défilé du Père Noël, the downtown Montreal business association and is known in French as Défilé du Père Noël. Eaton's also launched a Santa Claus Parade in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1909. Eaton's sold the Winnipeg parade to the Winnipeg Firefighters Club in 1965 and it has continued as a community parade to this day, but is now operated by the Winnipeg Jaycees.^[4][3]

Near demise and revival

Eaton's association with the parade ended in 1982 and almost led to the parade's demise.^[5] Businessmen led by George Cohon and 20 corporate sponsors stepped in to save the parade. Cohon retired from the parade organization in 2014.^[6] Today the parade is funded by various corporate sponsors (including McDonald's, Canadian Tire, Lowe's, The Walt Disney Company, Toys R Us, Mattel, Sears Canada, and Tim Horton's) which are featured in floats.

Changes

In 1983, the Celebrity Clowns began and remains a tradition of the parade today.

In 2011, the parade route moved its southbound leg from Yonge Street, via Dundas Street West, to Avenue Road, Queen's Park Crescent and University Avenue. Thus ending the tradition of passing the Toronto Eaton Centre, once home to the parade's former sponsor. Eaton Centre, one of many parade sponsors, continues to host the pancake breakfast.

Broadcasting

From 1952 to 1981, CBC Television broadcast the parade. The parade aired on CFRB radio from the 1930s through the 1950s and then on CBC Radio. CHFI-FM is the current radio broadcaster having taken over from CBC Radio in the 1980s.

Global carried the parade in Canada made the feed available in several other countries, including New Zealand, Ireland and Norway, primarily by broadcasters owned by or affiliated with Global's parent company CanWest between 1984 and 2009.^[7] The United States network CBS has broadcast the parade since the 1950s as part of its All American Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage during American Thanksgiving, rotating its coverage between the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Hudson's Thanksgiving Parade, Gimbel's Thanksgiving Parade and later the Disneyland Stars Parade.^[8]

On April 6, 2010, CTV and parade organizers announced an agreement under which CTV stations nationwide, along with CTV-owned Toronto-based 24-hour news channel CP24, would air live coverage of the parade through 2012.^[9][10][11] In consequence, the 2010 parade also aired on CTV-owned CHUM-AM 1050, which at the time operated a TV simulcast with CP24.

Closure and access

Streets around the downtown core are closed from approximately 8:00 a.m. through afternoon of parade day. While some parking is available, organizers encourage viewers to take public transit. GO Transit (via Union Station) and Toronto Transit Commission's subway stations provide access to the parade route.^[12]

References

External links

Media related to Toronto Santa Claus Parade at Wikimedia Commons

• 1960 'Eaton's Santa Claus Parade'
• Eaton's Santa Claus Parade
• Toronto Santa Claus Parade official website

Multimedia

• History of the Toronto parade
• Global TV 2009 Santa Claus Parade site
• CBC Archives CBC Radio report from 1957 on the parade